Page 78 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

He had taken them from her. And now he had given them back.

I narrowed my eyes, my magic a living thing in my body, curling and thrashing against my hold on it. The monster in the cage, begging me to set it free. To absorb her soul, to let my true self out so that I could destroy them all.

They had played the one card that I couldn’t compete with. I nearly smiled. I should've known better. I should’ve known the Drude would have another plan. Because as much as those souls may have been her mother and father, there was something wrong here. Maybe Justine didn’t see it. But she would.

The Drude was too comfortable in my world to not at least be part demon. Which meant that promise they’d just shared was far more dangerous than it first appeared. Whether Justine knew that or not was a different question altogether.

But that wasn’t what was important now. I needed to get out of this cage, to warn my father that the Drude was recruiting witches. That he had my mate—not just physically, but access to her soul as well.

My magic coiled in my chest, desperate to be let out. But that would do no one any good if I exploded here, only to have a shield or another more powerful magic wielder come out to smite me while I was weak. There was so much more happening in the living world than we had anticipated. Even Arafel’s dream spies couldn’t get the intel that I had just stumbled upon. If I manage to get out of here.

They were moving now, a sea of black gear and hushed voices as Justine and her family were ushered from the room back through the door. I forced my eyes back to the Drude. The air between us cracked with his power, the suffocating feel of it making my monster all the more frustrated.

“What have you done?” I snarled at him.

There was something smug about the way he stood there, watching me, waiting.

“Reunited a lost girl and her family?”

Alarm bells were tolling in my mind. Everything in my body was suddenly focused on reaching out to Justine through our bond, to beg for her to come back. Because whatever was waiting for her out there, it was so much worse than our shared cage. At least I could protect her if she was here. But now she was gone, in the hands of someone else altogether.

“And now you’re wondering what will become of you?” The Drude paced a small bit, pausing and turning his hood in my direction. “I suppose you're already guessed that your parents aren’t waiting on the other side of that wall.”

I growled, unwilling to let him hear a single bit more from me.

“What I really need from you is some information, Your Highness. I think we might even have a few things in common. I might even be able to help you with your little ‘destroys everything in your path’ problem.”

I simply glared at him in anger.

“Come on, Nephesh. Is this about your younger brother? The problem in the fires? I didn't intend for any of that to happen. You have to know that.”

The bars were sharp against my face as I pressed my body against the barrier. “Fuck you.”

“Hmm, I had expected finer diction from the Prince of Hell.”

“You expected wrong.”

“How about this? If you give me information, I will free your little mate from our new agreement.”

Ah, so that’s what he wanted. Disgusting creature.

I spat on the ground, noting one of the soldiers on the edge flinched. “I refuse to make deals with the likes of you.”

“Suit yourself. There are other ways to get what we need from you.”

I growled again, stepping into the darkness of my cell, hoping the Drude might get the point. I would not be giving him anything else, either on purpose or accident.

“We will talk again soon, Nephesh.”

I flinched at the sound of my name on his lips, that shuddering, eerie sound of his voice. Instead of answering, I chose to stay tall and still, my eyes fast on him until he slowly moved away. His soldiers broke away to follow him, leaving only two figures in the room. One was huge, nearly the size of my human form, muscles bulging beneath his shirts.

The other was a girl, delicate and tiny. She wore no weapons, carried no additional tools. But when she offered me a tremulous smile, I knew with absolute assurance that other than me and maybe the Drude, she was the most dangerous thing here.

She stepped forward, that smile slipping just a little when I spread my wings wide. Her eyes followed them, her mouth turning into a tiny “O” as she moved ever closer.

Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath in. “Demon.”

“Hello, witch…” I gambled on my next question. “Which of my brothers do you belong to, then?”